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Fans in a couple of hours will get a treat on TV. The CITS is all decked out in creamsicle.
The Bucs cheerleaders are all wearing orange. A giant Bucco Bruce helmet is at midfield. The end zones have white “TAMPA BAY” with orange trim.
Even the sides of the CITS on field level have an orange and white banner circling the stadium.
It will look cool to Bucs fans on TV. Joe is already impressed.
Week 8
Packers vs. Bucs
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV: WTVT Ch. 13, DirecTV 710
Radio: Buccaneers Radio Network (in Tampa WFUS-FM, 103.5 and WDAE-AM, 620); Sirius Channel 138.
Weather: Per AccuWeather.com, despite the wind, absolute dynamite weather. Temperature at kickoff expected to be 82 with winds at 15 mph. If Raheem the Dream had stuck to his run-first, throw-deep offense, this would be perfect. Joe knows it’s not in the 80s in the daytime in Green Bay in November. Winds may actually slightly increase during the game. While kickoff is expected to be sunny, the skies are expected to turn cloudy before the end of the game.
Odds: Per Bodog.com, Green Bay -10
Outlook: Finally, the Ring of Honor is unveiled today, and no less an inductee than the lone Bucs player in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Lee Roy Selmon, is the initial inductee. Props to Lee Roy. Also rather fitting, the creamsicle unis are unearthed. Good timing since those unis signify the horrible Bucs years. Given the fact the Bucs are chasing a winless season, it’s rather fitting the creamsicles are broken out again. Given the fact Josh Freeman will be making his first NFL start at quarterback, the only way the Bucs win this game is if the Bucs can dominate in the running game. Joe expects at least one pick-six. If Freeman throws less than 12 passes, that means the Bucs have a prayer. If Freeman throws more than 20 passes, the Cheeseheads will have a fine time today with their Miller Lite (given the fact Joe is from the St. Louis area, the thought of drinking Miller Lite as opposed to Caybrew is nauseating to Joe, no matter how kind the Packers fans are.
Joe’s brought up the subject of Josh Freeman getting booed before. But as Freeman wets his pants prepares before his first start today, it’s worth another look.
Bucs fans have endured 11 consecutive losses. Ownership isn’t spending enough money on players. The head coach and general manager haven’t proven squat yet. Few players are shining on the field. And home games are typically soiled by thousands of fans for the opposition.
If all that doesn’t make for a testy fan base, Joe’s not sure what would.
And that brings Joe to 21-year-old Josh Freeman. How much time does he have before Bucs fans turn against him, assuming he struggles like most rookie quarterbacks do?
Joe believes Freeman gets a pass on Sunday, no matter what happens. And Freeman likely will be left alone if the Bucs win a couple of games.
But if the Bucs drop their next two, then the team is 0-9 and at home for New Orleans, a game that could see Freeman playing from behind early and throwing his share of interceptions.
Might the boos rain down on him that soon? Could he handle it?
Consider that Detroit Lions fans are already ripping Matthew Stafford a new one, so describes the Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee). And he’s actually won a game and had some strong peformances.
In case you missed it, Stafford, the first overall pick in the 2009 draft, was booed heavily as he completed 14 of 33 passes for 168 yards and threw one interception in the Lions’ 17-10 loss to the previously winless St. Louis Rams on Sunday at Ford Field.
Never mind that Stafford had missed the previous two games with a knee injury and fought like heck to get back into the lineup.
Never mind that in his two starts before the injury, Stafford posted respectable passer ratings of 87.8 and 89.6.
Never mind that Stafford led the Lions to a victory over the Washington Redskins on Sept. 27 – at home – to break the franchise’s 19-game losing streak.
It’s like Lions fans never learned anything from the tortured existences of previous would-be franchise quarterbacks such as Joey Harrington, Andre Ware and Chuck Long.
But they booed anyway – and then taunted Stafford as he stood on the sideline inside the “friendly” confines.
Joe thinks Bucs fans are, unfortunately, an angry lot that will go after Freeman if he struggles and the Bucs don’t win a couple of games.
Personally, Joe doesn’t think he could boo Freeman this year. It just doesn’t seem fair.
But if the Bucs are winless in late December and Freeman looks like a bust, Joe’s not sure he could refrain from booing anyone in the organization who isn’t female, half naked and dancing on the sidelines.
The Bucs breaking out the creamsicle uniforms is a mere hours away and Joe has the previews for you, courtesy of the good people of the NFL Network.
What’s that? You don’t have the NFL Network? What’s the matter with you? Be a man and get the NFL Network! Don’t let slimeballs dictate what you can watch in your own home!
First the fine folks of NFL Films get fans ready for the game.
Next, Joe Theismann, Sterling Sharpe and knothead Brian Baldinger talk about the reincarnation of “The Bay of Pigs.” Even though Joe is not a Baldinger fan, he shows in great detail how Jim Bates’ two-gap system is a joke with the players the Bucs have. If a clown like Baldinger can figure this out, then how come Bates can’t?
A preview of the game is not complete without a weather report from AccuWeather.com
Also, Bucs rookie quarterback Josh Freeman talks about how he’s ready to “let it rip.”
Lastly, Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com details how the Bucs want Freeman to take chances downfield.
As Antonio Bryant moans about a long, cramped flight from England two weeks ago delivering his surgically-repaired knee a setback, per Woody Cummings of TBO.com, Joe wants to remind readers of how screwed up Bryant’s knee, in fact, is.
They guy’s not dogging it.
Joe sees him as damaged goods who knows he needs to play to rack up numbers and get a fat contract somewhere next year. As we know, $10 million guaranteed isn’t enough for Antonio and his family to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Here’s a flashback from the JoeBucsFan.com archives; Bryant’s own words about his knee on the Buccaneers Radio Network about five weeks ago:
Antonio Bryant on his injured knee: “Everybody thinks it’s the same injury. It’s not. What happened is, in the Dallas game when I cut back, because of the difference [after the preseason surgery] and the amount of tissue that was between my knee, I actually bruised the bone. Bone on bone from making the cutback on the skinny post. And that’s what aggravated my knee again. Actually, the swelling comes from the bone being swollen. But it’s actually healing so that the swelling is more so on the inside as opposed to the outside. It was actually all through the bone. But you could touch it on the outside. But you can’t touch it anymore. So it’s just, it’s a process, man. It’s a bone.
“It’s functional as far as I can go out there and do the certain things that we have to do to go out there and play. But I can’t practice because it will aggravate it. I can’t go out there and not practice full speed and not practice the way I play. But it’s just a matter of being at practice day to day doing minimal reps. Actually this week I took some reps just to get the feel. …The only problem is now I don’t have any pain, it’s just the swelling. By having fluid in the knee it’s keeping me from actually running the way I want to run. So every Sunday I have to go in there and go ahead and say bye-bye to my little fluid thing and get ready to play.
“I definitely think I’m going to feel a whole lot better this week. That’s why I went out there. They don’t want me to practice. But i just felt like just for my teammates and just for Josh that, you know, it bothers me that I can’t go the way I want to. …Josh, especially in the state of mind he’s in, and being kind of thrown in there right off the bat, it’s a mindset. I want to be out so he can visibly see me, visibly see my number run those routes and not another receiver. So when the game comes, it’ll click, it’ll register, it’ll be like practice. So that’s why I’m urging, I’m trying to really pushing to get out there [in practice].”
As usual, Joe brings you how the national media types think of the Bucs. Brace yourselves Bucs fans, this will be brutal.
Mike Sando of BSPN.com has the Bucs dead last.
This is officially the worst team in the league now that the Rams have finally won a game.
Adrian Hasenmayer of FoxSports.com also has the Bucs dead last.
Man, even on a bye week the Buccaneers still lost — with both the Rams and Titans winning their first games of the year, Tampa remains as the league’s only winless crew. Only nine more to go…
Former Bucs beat writer Don Banks of SI.com isn’t as harsh, rating the Bucs at No. 31.
Let’s all lower the bar of expectation for rookie quarterback Josh Freeman as his era begins in Tampa Bay. Freeman doesn’t have to look as good as Mark Sanchez, Matthew Stafford, Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan looked as rookie starters. He just has to look a tiny bit better than Josh Johnson and Byron Leftwich looked for this year’s Bucs.
Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com also has the Bucs at No. 32.
The Josh Freeman Era begins, and it’s the right thing to do. They have to get him going for the future. Why wait?
By Bob Fox
[Regular listeners to WDAE-AM 620 will know the calm, quiet yet informed tones of “Green Bay Bob,” the Tampa Bay area’s No. 1 source of Wisconsin sports. Naturally, given his on-air moniker, Bob is an avowed Cheesehead, bleeding green and cheddar. Bob takes a look back at the history of the rivalry between the Bucs and Packers.]
I’m sure you all remember the “Bay of Pigs” era between the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It all started about 20 years ago.
In the late 1980s, when ESPN was doing its “NFL Primetime” show, Chris Berman and the late Pete Axthelm borrowed the phrase “The Bay of Pigs” when talking about matchups between the Packers and Bucs.
Like the botched “Bay of Pigs” invasion of Cuba in April 1961, the Packers and Bucs in the late 1980s were woeful. It started for the Packers in 1986, when coach Forrest Gregg gutted the team to add youth to the roster. The Packers suffered seasons of 4-12, 5-9-1 and 4-12 from 1986 through 1988, when Lindy Infante took over as coach.
The Bucs will host the 4-3 Packers this upcoming Sunday and wear their throwback Creamsicle uniforms that will also have the infamous “Bucco Bruce” helmet. This time the game will be held at Raymond James Stadium, as opposed to the “Big Sombrero,” also known as Tampa Stadium, where the Bucs played from 1976-1997.
The Packers used to call the old stadium “Lambeau South” as legions of Packer fans would be at the game and the Packers usually won the contest. The Packers were 11-7-1 at the “Sombrero.”,
Things have changed at the “Ray Jay.” The Packers have won only one game since 1998 at the new digs for the Bucs and are overall 1-6 at the venue.
Besides the throwback uniforms on display for the Bucs on Sunday, the team is also honoring Hall of Fame defensive end Lee Roy Selmon and making him the first inductee into the team’s Ring of Honor. It is a well deserved honor.
Ironically, the man who drafted Selmon was none other than Ron Wolf, the man that helped to transform the Packers in the Holmgren era, when he was GM with the Packers from 1991-2000. Wolf started his NFL career in the front office of the Oakland Raiders from 1963-1975, then joined the Bucs in their infancy in 1976.
Wolf drafted players such as Selmon, quarterback Doug Williams, running back Ricky Bell and others that would get the Bucs to the NFC championship game in 1979. Wolf wasn’t around though to see that, as he resigned for “personal reasons” in 1978 (some say he had issues working with owner Hugh Culverhouse) and re-joined the Raiders until he came to Green Bay.
Wolf lives in the Green Bay area, after making the Annapolis area his home for many years. Wolf’s son Eliot, is now the Assistant Director of Pro Personnel for the Packers.
Sunday’s game should see a full house at the Ray Jay, which has been somewhat rare in 2009, even though all games have been classified as “sellouts”. But there have been plenty of open seats.
With the proper induction of Selmon to the Bucs’ Ring of Honor, the throwback jerseys and another large expectation of Green Bay fans, Sunday’s game should be a near-packed house.
Yes…as I will gaze onto the field Sunday, it will seem like old times. Going back to an era that was bleak for both franchises. The Bucs are trying not to copy their 1976 counterparts and go winless for a season. The Packers are trying to bounce back from maybe the most painful regular season loss in franchise history.
Yes…it will be a game between two Bays, and both are trying to get away from the trough.
Trey Wingo, Mark Schlereth and Tedy Bruschi discuss if the Bucs have a prayer of beating the Packers. Schlereth thinks they may have a prayer.
A nod to the good folks at BucStats.com for this one (Yes, Joe realizes it’s just a blog by one guy who apparently despises JoeBucsFan.com).
So it seems wide receiver Kelly Campbell was cut from the Bucs recently without a peep from One Buc Place. The veteran speedster was listed with a quad injury late in the preseason and landed on injured reserve (2 months with a quad?). Apparently, the Bucs reached an injury settlement with him as he just signed a multi-year deal with his old CFL club, the Edmonton Eskimos.
But it seems Campbell got cold feet and was a no-show in Edmonton after inking his deal.
So why is Joe giving so much ink to Campbell?
Well, in many ways, Campbell played a huge part in the Bucs season. You see, he let what would have been a long Luke McCown touchdown pass go right through his hands in the back of the end zone during the win-the-starting-QB- job preseason game against Miami.
If Campbell catches that ball, Joe believes McCown would have been named the starter.
And maybe the Bucs would have won one of their first three games. And maybe McCown would have still been in there now with the Bucs at 3-4 entering Sunday’s game, and Freeman where he belongs as No. 2 QB.
The creamsicle uniforms may not be one and done after Sunday’s game against the Packers.
Per Jeff Faine, he and his teammates have been ordered to leave their uniforms in the locker room after the game so they can be laundered and re-used.
“Since it is a one time thing we were going to bring them home, but they said we can’t in case we use them again,” Faine reported Friday evening during his weekly radio show on 1010 AM.
Earlier this week Earnest Graham said players were talking about sticking with the throwbacks if the Bucs win Sunday.
Joe’s all in favor. No need to make a change if they can chalk up a W.
A Josh Freeman fan called Adam Schein and Jim Miller, co-hosting “The Blitz” earlier today on Sirius NFL Radio, and was geeked about Josh Freeman starting. The caller, however, sort of took the duo to task for picking the Packers to beat the Bucs (can you imagine?).
Miller, a former NFL quarterback himself, suggested that while he doesn’t expect anything from Freeman right now, he does expect good things from Freeman down the road.
“I was hoping Josh Freeman would light a spark for the Bucs and then you guys pick them to get trashed by the Packers,” the fan said. “Maybe the Bucs can show something?”
Miller then explained his take on the Packers game and Freeman.
“I love [Freeman’s] upside,” Miller said. “I said that before the draft. He’s a big physical kid but his mechanics and footwork needs work on. He’s not as polished at Flacco or Ryan. He is just not.”
The Bucs “gameplan will have to be simple and he will be up against a very complex defense. He will have to have mirrored routes, which are basically the same routes on both sides of the field; out-routes and checkdowns.
“It will have to be a simple gameplan. He has great talent but you won’t see it this year. He will struggle and will really struggle against this 34 defense the Packers run.”
Joe’s got official confirmation of a kind gesture and smart business move enacted by the Glazers and their business team at One Buc Palace.
With great seats available all season long, the Bucs have been offering many of their most loyal customers free upgrades to unsold club level seats (those seats don’t count toward TV blackouts).
Joe first learned of this via comments made by multiple callers to various sports radio stations over the past week.
Today, Jeff Kamis, Bucs director of all things media, confirmed the team’s generosity to some lucky, dedicated fans.
“This is a program that we have been running this season in appreciation to our long term season ticket holders,” Kamis wrote in an e-mail.
Of course, the Bucs can’t put this offer out to every season ticket holder in the upper level. But the sheer joy in the voices of those who scored the upgrade is no doubt easing the pain of the winless season.
Given all the no-shows for recent games, it’s also likely a smart way to put more fannies in the seats on game day. The season ticket holder who gets the free upgrade is more likely to attend the game — and spend money at the stadium.
A Bucs fan had the nerve to try to cross swords with former Bucs great Derrick Brooks as he co-hosted “The Red Zone,” with Ross Tucker this afternoon on Sirius NFL Radio.
The Bucs fan was extremely upset with both the Glazer Family and Raheem the Dream. In short, he wanted the Glazer Family to speak to fans over what they plan to do in order to change the Brutal Bucs losing ways.
The fan also thought Brooks was dead wrong about Raheem the Dream.
“I look across the NFL and I see all sorts of first-year coaches doing well,” the fan told Brooks. “Look at what Mike Smith did last year. He had a rookie quarterback. Look at what John Harbaugh did last year with a rookie quarterback. Denver has a first-year coach with Josh McDaniel and a retread quarterback and they’re winning. Then I see what we have and Morris doesn’t even have a win.”
Brooks made no secret of his support for Raheem the Dream and is of the opinion Raheem the Dream will do fine if given the time. He also stood up for Bryan and Joel.
“I believe in coach Morris,” Brooks said. “I like him. Remember, he interviewed for the Denver job. I think coach Morris will be a great coach. He’s just in a tough situation. His experience losing, it will either make him a better coach or a not-so-good coach.
“Now what is going to change on the field if our owners speak up? They didn’t do that when we won the Super Bowl! They’re not that way. They’re not going to do that.”
Vacation Man of BSPN talks about the debut of Josh Freeman Sunday against the Packers.
Former Bucs DE Steve White
Former Bucs defensive end Steve White, who nails it every week in his popular Bull Rush column on JoeBucsFan.com, also has plenty to rant about on his own sports blog.
This week he came after Raheem The Dream again demanding he stop comparing his team and players to previous Bucs eras. Earlier this year, White took Raheem The Dream to task for a Dungy comparison.
Now it’s a Warren Sapp-Aqib Talib analogy, based on quotes in the St. Pete Times, that has White fired up.
Morris said Talib still has a lot of growing up to do.
“You’ve got to weigh character with a man’s God-given ability to play this game,” Morris said. “Has he made mistakes? Yes, He has. Has he made some as a Buccaneer? Yes, he has.
“He has to get better and we’ve got to contunue to get better…We had a bunch of players like him in the past. To mention one, Warren Sapp. He grew up and became a man.”
Look every coach has to have his own way of disciplining players, but I for one definitely feel like Morris has let this Talib situation get away from him. With a guy who came into the league with so much baggage prior to even playing a down and then for him to be in trouble several times since he was drafted this is the kind of thing that should call for immediate punishment in my honest opinion. But hey, just because the guy beat up a cabbie and then turned around and missed a curfew who am I to tell Morris how to run his team?
But what you DON’T need to do is keep trying to compare your situation to former Bucs players and coaches to try to justify where you are at. I played with Sapp for 6 years and yeah he was far from perfect. But he for damn sure wasn’t getting arrested for beating up cabbies. He for damn sure wasn’t hitting his teammates in the head with helmets. He for DAMN SURE wasn’t missing curfew either.
It was bad enough when Morris took a shot at Coach Dungy who I believe took the Bucs to the NFC championship and won a Superbowl with Indy the last time I checked. But this is really getting out of hand now.
Do everyone a favor Coach Morris, just focus on the people who are there now. …
Joe wonders what Sapp would say about Raheem The Dream mentioning him in the same breath with Talib?
Joe prefers San Diego Seduction receiver Julie Galindo to Michael Clayton.
Joe is a football fan.
And he’s especially a fan of the gritty old school players who catch the ball and take hits. Not those who drop them and find excuses.
That brings Joe to Julie Galindo, a surehanded receiver who snatches balls consistently, whether she has to go get them on her knees or leap for them.
Galindo also is known for her blocking after just two games for the new San Diego Seduction of the Lingerie Football League.
Yes, Joe is following the league, which desperately needs embed codes for its game highlights. (But you can still see some on the league Web site).
The Tampa Breeze has yet to post its roster; Their inaugural game is in December at the St. Pete Times Forum.
Joe hopes the team is smart enough to advertise here and give Joe full media access.
That would surely boost attendance.
Caybrew is the official beer of JoeBucsFan.com, and the only beer you should drink. But Dead Guy Ale? The Professor can't resist toasting Josh Freeman with a few of those on Sunday.
Joe’s got famous friends. Sadly, Carmella Garcia is not one of them, but perhaps she’ll come around.
Today, Joe introduces you to another one of his pals. He’s Cork Gaines, a hardcore Bucs fan and the premier Tampa Bay Rays blogger/analyst/wiseass fan on the planet. “The Professor” (sorry, John Clayton) is the creator, curator and Mr. Everything at RaysIndex.com. It’s a site Joe visits regularly. And an absolute must for Rays fans.
Joe is honored to have The Professor joining him for a regular feature at JoeBucsFan.com.
Everybody relax, I’m here. This is The Professor in the Pork Chop Express, and I’m talkin’ to whoever’s listenin’ out there…
FIRST QUARTER (warming up)
Since last November, the Tampa Bay Rays lost the World Series and then pissed away a 2009 season, finishing 19 games behind the Yankees. In that same time period, the Bucs have lost 11 games in a row…Which team has had the rougher 12 months?
They have both been disappointing, but if I can play the “Stupid Metaphor” game, the Rays were the ugly friend that always hangs out with hot chicks, but can never seal the deal. Meanwhile, the Bucs are more like your friend Narcoleptic Nick. No matter how well or bad things are going, Nick will always puke and pass out about before the evening is over ruining everybody’s night. Meanwhile we hear there is still a hockey team in the area…TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
SECOND QUARTER (over/unders)
College teams that would be favored in a head-to-head match-up against the Bucs: 2.5
OK, OK. That is a low blow. They are still an NFL team and favored against any college team. But we do wonder what the spread would be if the Bucs played the Gators at a neutral site. 20.5? That’s not a lot…UNDER
Number of people that predicted Josh Freeman would start his first game in week 9 and then jumped up and down like a Whack-A-Mole yelling “I AM NOSTRADAMUS!”: 5,874
My 7-week old daughter predicted that crap the day of the draft, and she was a fetus…OVER
Losses for the Bucs this season: 16.5
After the season, I predict the Bucs will finally accept a 15-year old challenge from Beloit College to play for the right to use Bucco Bruce on their helmets (see 5th bullet in this link). Beloit will win and thus restore the Bucs as the worst team ever…OVER
Wins for Raheem Morris in his career as coach of the Bucs: 8.5
The Bucs saw the success of young coaches with other teams and thought it was the right move. It wasn’t. Hey, we love it too when 7th round draft picks succeed in the NFL. But they were drafted in the 7th round for a reason. Heart is great, but you still need talent to win. Bill Cowher will be coaching this team in 2011…UNDER
THIRD QUARTER (a look back)
Tony Dungy took the Bucs out of the darkness. Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl…Which head coach had the better tenure?
In 7 seasons, Chucky went 57-55 and made 3 playoff appearances. In 6 seasons, Dungy went 54-42 and made 4 playoff appearances. Advantage Dungy. Chucky won a Super Bowl. Dungy built the team that won the Super Bowl. Advantage Gruden. Gruden went 3-1 against the Eagles. Dungy went 1-3. Advantage Chucky. Chucky was arrogant on offense. Dungy liked field goals. Advantage The Other Team. In the end, both coaches gave us something that can never be taken back. A Super Bowl…PUSH
FOURTH QUARTER (no huddle)
Who has been the Bucs MVP over the first 7 games?
The Bucs are 0-7. Take away any one player, and they still have zero wins. On other hand, there are reasons to keep paying attention to the Bucs other than the unintentional comedy factor…Bucco Bruce and Josh Freeman will keep fannys in the seats
The Florida Tuskers play a 6-game schedule. Can they win more games than the Bucs?
The Tuskers are already 4-0…Next question
How many TDs will Josh Freeman throw this Sunday in his first start?
Touchdowns? I’ll cheer if he can throw a spiral…Two (one for the Packers)
The Bucs are breaking out the orange throwback unis this weekend…You cool with that?
I love the Orange. Not the neon orange of the early 90s but the true orange of the 70s and 80s. And I love that it will be against the Packers. And while I usually favor historical accuracy, would it have killed the Bucs to alter Bucco Bruce so he is NOT winking?…Why is he winking?!?
We have heard you pick a beverage for each game based on the matchup…What is the drink of choice for week 9 against the Packers?
Well, we are still waiting for our cases of Caybrew to come in the mail. In the meantime, we are going with Dead Guy Ale in honor of Josh Freeman’s first professional start…Dead Guy Ale
Amanda Harris
Highlights of every game and the best analysis around.
Remember, Joe does double duty serving fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Check out JoeBoltsFan.com today. The finest Bolts analyst on the planet, Amanda Harris, breaks down last night’s game.
Pat Kirwan and Jason Horowitz of CBSSports.com break down the Packers-Bucs game. As regular readers know, Joe is addicted to Sirius NFL Radio, on which Kirwan has a weekday show. In this spirited discussion, Kirwan shows why Sirius NFL Radio is such a jewel. Kirwan drops a mini-bombshell about rookie quarterback Josh Freeman and explains clearly why the Bucs defense sucks.
"Olie, text Coach Gru and see what he likes for Freeman against the Packers. Sh*t, Chucky probably just watched as much Packers film last week as we did."
The man Mark Dominik and Raheem The Dream hand picked to craft the franchise’s new offense for years to come, and call plays for their eight-figure rookie franchise quarterback, is miles from One Buc Palace and collecting a fat Glazer paycheck.
That would be Jeff Jagodzinski.
His name came up during a live chat Thursday hosted by the Mad Twitterer, aka St. Pete Times Bucs beat writer Rick Stroud.
Stroud detailed his knowledge of what went wrong.
Comment From TroyTroy: What do you think is the real reason for the new offensive coach?
Stroud: I talked to a lot of people about this one. Even before Jeff Jagodzinski was hired, I had guys that played for him at Boston College tell me Jags never really called a play. He had other people do that. When they went through some trials in training camp using the walkie talkies, he scrambled things up. When they went to RJS for a trial run, it was worse. In the preseason, same thing. What were they supposed to do? It’s a horrible mistake that during the interview process, they didn’t do a better job of knowing what Jags’ weakness might be. And they weren’t happy with the lack of volume to his protections and playbook.
It remains unfathomable how Jagodzinski even got the job. For Joe, it’s clear that Jagodzinski either lied through his teeth about his ability and experience in calling plays, or Dominik and Raheem The Dream had no clue how to interview him.
Joe suspects the latter.
Then to switch to Greg Olson and bring back Chucky’s playbook (Stroud explains this, as well) to a franchise allegedly establishing a new identity as a pound-the-ball/play-action-pass club is incomprehensible.
Two big questions loom: Can Olson build an offense that maximizes Josh Freeman’s abillity? And is Olson on the phone to Chucky for help?
